Society for the Study of Social Problems adopts resolution

WHEREAS five times per day in the United States, plastic surgeons at major hospitals perform cosmetic surgery upon the genitals of infants of young children, and

WHEREAS these operations to improve genital appearance often result in severe negative effects, including the permanent loss of sexual sensation, lifelong bladder infections, and the loss of fertility, and

WHEREAS having genitalia that look atypical is not a medical emergency, so that surgery can be postponed until a child matures sufficiently to make a full informed decision whether s/he considers the risks worth the benefits,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Society for the Study of Social Problems urges all legislative bodies to draft legislation prohibiting genital cosmetic plastic surgery and/or accompanying hormonal treatments upon minors if it involves substantial risk to health or physical function, including future sexual function and fertility, unless the minor is sufficiently mature to give full informed consent to the procedure, and

RESOLVED that the Society for the Study of Social Problems urges
legislative bodies to define as medical malpractice cosmetic plastic surgery upon minors that involves substantial risk to health or physical function, including future sexual function and fertility, and that is performed upon a minor who does not consent or who consents and is insufficiently mature to give full informed consent.